Each day as I approach my time in the word of God, I realize how rich each and every passage is with the nuggets of truth that enhance my own walk with the Lord.

Paul takes a young man to assist him in his ministry, but at the same time, as he instructs young Timothy in his ministry among the churches, Paul is continuing to build Timothy in the Lord as well. I am eager to see how Paul instructs Timothy so that I may appropriate these useful truths for my life also.

Notice that with Paul's instruction there is the foundational truth for how Timothy or for that matter you and I can live by the exhortations for a mature Christian life. Paul tells Timothy to "be strong" to stand up in the Lord, but then quickly reminds him that can only be done because of the "Lord's grace" bestowed upon all believers, verse 1.

Then comes the instruction - endure hardness as a good soldier. Do not be entangled in the affairs of this life, which will be pleasing to the One who has chosen us to be His soldier in this life, verse 4.

Verse 5 reveals to us that it is not the crown, the first prize that is our goal, although that is not a bad goal. But we should strive for the best we can do in the Lord's power and for the Lord's glory and leave the results to Him.

With this basic training, we can now endure all things so that we will be able to lead others to salvation, the eternal life that the Lord offers. To me, even with the basic training and the provision of His grace, I must totally rely on Him so that I can "endure all things."

I mentioned that we may not come in first in each race but we must do the training to do our best for Him. However, there are rewards in the future, at the Judgment Seat of Christ that we can and should focus on.

Notice that if we suffer, we shall reign with Him, verse 12. John the Revelator made a similar statement to all those who are "overcomers". Revelation 2:26-27 records the letter to believers, those who are "overcomers" in the church at Thyatira. They shall rule with the Lord in His kingdom to come.

I love how Paul concludes our reading for today. He tells us to remember these things as we remember what to do, how to do it, in and through His grace, then we can look forward to why we do these things. We do all to be able to "rule and reign with Him in the future".

PRAYER THOT: Thank you, Lord, for revealing the what, how, and why to live the Christian life.